Iran toughens crackdown as it reports some oil workers are participating in protests

DUBAI, Oct 10 (Reuters) – Iranian security forces intensified crackdown on anti-government protests in several Kurdish cities on Monday as demonstrations elsewhere in Iran spread to the country’s vital energy sector.

Protests have gripped Iran ever since. Mahsa EminA 22-year-old teenager from the Kurdish region of Iran died in September. 16. Detained for “inappropriate dress”, one of the most daring challenges to the Islamic Republic since the 1979 revolution.

University students played a pivotal role in the protests, in which dozens of universities went on strike, while workers at the Abadan and Kangan oil refineries and the Bushehr Petrochemical Project took part, according to unconfirmed reports on social media.

The Iranian oil ministry was not immediately available for comment.

Mass protests and strikes by oil workers and Bazaar merchants helped the clergy come to power in the Iranian revolution forty years ago.

But analysts said Iran’s clerics would likely contain the unrest for the time being, and a new political order is unlikely to emerge imminent. Read more

A video posted on Twitter showed dozens of workers blocking the road to the Bushehr petrochemical plant in Assaluyeh, on Iran’s Gulf coast, chanting “Death to the Dictator”.

Tensions were especially high between the authorities and the authorities. Kurdish minority An accusation that human rights groups have long said has been under pressure – an accusation the Islamic Republic denies.

Human rights group Hengaw reported on Monday that armed security forces were present in the Kurdish cities of Sanandaj, Saqez and Divandareh. He said at least five Kurdish citizens have been killed and more than 150 injured in protests since Saturday.

Videos shared on social media sparked protests in dozens of cities across Iran in the early hours of Monday, with violent clashes between protesters and riot police in cities and towns in Amini’s main Kurdistan province. Iranian social media posts called for mass protests on Wednesday.

Iranian authorities blamed the violence on a number of enemies, including armed Iranian Kurdish dissidents. Revolutionary Guards attack bases in neighboring Iraq several times during the recent unrest.

“READY TO DIE”

Iran has a history of reducing unrest among the more than 10 million Kurds, whose aspirations for autonomy have led to clashes with authorities in Turkey, Iraq and Syria, and are part of a Kurdish minority.

Heavy gunfire was heard in several videos shared by activist 1500tasvir on Twitter. A video showed several explosions that produced blinding flashes in a neighborhood of Sanandaj, the capital of the Kurdistan province.

Activists said on social media that large numbers of people, including two teenagers, were killed by security forces in the state. Reuters was unable to verify the videos and posts.

Unaffected by tear gas, sticks and, in many cases, real ammunition used by security forces, protesters across Iran continued to call for demonstrators to burn images of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and to overthrow the religious order, according to rights groups.

At least 185 people, including 19 minors, were killed, hundreds injured, and thousands arrested by security forces, according to rights groups. Blaming the protests on Iran’s xenophobes, officials said “rebels” had killed at least 20 security guards.

Videos on social media showed school girls in Iran participating in the protests.

“Hey world, hear me out: I want a revolution. I want to live freely and I’m ready to die for it,” said a 17-year-old protester, whose name and location have not been released, in a city in central Iran. Due to Reuters security concerns.

“I would rather die by their (security forces) bullets during freedom protests than to die every minute under the pressure of this regime.”

The writing of Parisa Hafezi; Editing by Tom Perry, William Maclean and David Evans

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